The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo (SAN), has intervened as the industry’s unions declared peaceful protests next Wednesday to demand an end to the 50 percent deduction from the internally generated revenue (IGR) of various agencies in the industry.
The general secretaries of the five aviation unions said the protests, which will take place at all airports in the country, are in response to the failure of the Federal Government to waive deductions for airlines.
The affected agencies include the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB).
Journalists reported that the exercise to remove the airline from the list of airlines that remit 50 percent of their revenues to the Federal Government’s Treasury Single Account (TSA) continues because the deduction is 25 percent.
The unions in their letter stressed that the aviation authority is a cost recovery company and not a profit-making enterprise and therefore cannot survive on half of its revenues. The union said the cuts have already halted some safety-critical activities in the agencies
Councils, women’s commissions, youth councils, and branches across the country rally together to ensure the protests are successful. Further measures will be determined and notified if the protests fail to achieve the desired outcome.
Meanwhile, Keyamo has convened a meeting with the unions to discuss the issues at hand, giving President Bola Tinubu ample time to intervene and fully address the unions’ concerns.
He said in a statement: “We understand that this is putting a strain on the industry’s ability to meet critical safety and operational needs and we take these concerns very seriously.
“In response to the concerns, the ministry has scheduled a meeting with the leadership of the unions on September 17, 2024.”
Keyamo also appealed to the unions to reconsider their peaceful protests scheduled for September 18, 2024, and to facilitate dialogue.
